Passenger arrested for gun at Little Rock airport LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock police have arrested a man who brought a gun and ammunition in his carry-on bag at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. According to a police report, officers were summoned to the airport Tuesday night after a TSA officer discovered the gun and ammunition in the man’s carry-on luggage. Authorities say the man was a ticketed passenger on a flight from Little Rock to Houston. The police report says the ma...

Police: Brookland brawl leads to multiple arrests BROOKLAND (AP) — Authorities say 10 people were arrested after a fight broke out in the parking lot of a northeast Arkansas school. Craighead County authorities say the incident began early Sunday at a dance club in Jonesboro and the group met up again at a Brookland school parking lot to fight. The Jonesboro Sun reported all 10 people who were arrested were adults. The 10 people were arrested on charges including disorderly conduct, public in...

Fort Smith police warn of scam targeting elderly FORT SMITH (AP) — Fort Smith police are investigating three incidents in which elderly residents were taken in by alleged false promises from a man claiming to be a roofer. Police said Tuesday that in each instance, elderly homeowners were approached by a man and told that a warranty inspection was needed on the roof of their home. Police say the man convinced the homeowners that they had to pay to repair leaks around vents on the roof, which ...

Rockwell, Cooper lead tight races in primary JONESBORO (AP) — Fewer than 100 votes separated the top candidates from the also-rans Tuesday after ballots were counted in special party primary runoffs for a state Senate seat in northeastern Arkansas. According to complete but unofficial returns, Jonesboro businessman Steve Rockwell led Valley View Schools Superintendent Radius Baker by 24 votes in the Democratic primary, while former AT&T manager John Cooper led Ascent Children's Services ...

Deputy sheriff found dead in patrol car LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Phillips County sheriff's deputy has been found dead in his patrol car — but authorities say foul play is not suspected. Sheriff Neal Byrd said Deputy Robert Nearns Sr. was found dead in his car early Tuesday morning. Byrd said the body has been sent to the state medical examiner's office to determine the cause of death, but he says a health issue is suspected. Byrd said Nearns had been dispatched to investigate a burglary...

Hutchinson say he wants to cut income taxLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Republican gubernatorial hopeful and former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he wants to gradually cut Arkansas' individual income tax rate, starting with a plan to reduce rates for the state's middle class. Hutchinson said that if elected, he would seek during his first year in office to drop the income tax rate from 7 percent to 6 percent for people earning between $34,000 and $75,000 and from 6 percent to 5 percent f...

Arkansas to build $25 million basketball facility FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Arkansas has announced it will begin construction of a $25 million basketball practice facility next month. The groundbreaking ceremony for the 65,000-square-foot facility will be held on Dec. 7, and it is scheduled to open in the summer of 2015. It will hold the workout facilities, offices and all other basketball operations for both the Razorbacks men's and women's teams. Athletic director Jeff Long has talked extensively...

Mayor of West Fork resigns abruptly WEST FORK (AP) — City officials say the mayor of West Fork is resigning. Fayetteville television station KHOG reports (http://bit.ly/1aCVx86 ) that Frances Hime sent a letter to the West Fork City Council on Tuesday, saying she was resigning immediately. The letter asks the city to send Hime's paycheck to her home address and says the city can keep the furniture left in her office. The letter also says that Hime will be out of town to attend a...

Contemporary artists to show at Crystal Bridges BENTONVILLE (AP) — Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art announced Monday that it is planning a major exhibition of contemporary art that will open next fall. Monday marked the second anniversary of the Bentonville museum's Nov. 11, 2011, opening and organizers marked the event by detailing the planned "State of the Art" exhibition. The works, selected after curators visited more than 400 studios of American artists, are to go on display Sept...

SBA announces new veterans programLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The U.S. Small Business Administration is waiving the borrowing fee on loans of up to $350,000 made to veterans, the agency’s chief announced Friday during an appearance in Arkansas. SBA Acting Administrator Jeanne Hulit said the waiver program will begin Jan. 1 and run through Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. Hulit and Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., were among officials and entrepreneurs at a Senate Small Business Su...

Logan County jail escape caught in Booneville PARIS (AP) — Logan County Sheriff Steve Smith says an inmate who escaped the county jail has been recaptured in Booneville. Smith told the Times Record that Gary Patrick Topham, 49, of Magazine was caught about 10 a.m. Thursday by authorities investigating reports that he was seen on a street in Booneville. Authorities have said Topham escaped shortly after noon Monday by climbing a chain-link fence that’s topped with razor wire. Topham was be...

AG OKs wording of gay marriage ballot itemLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel on Thursday approved the wording of a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, clearing the way for supporters to begin gathering signatures to place the measure on the 2016 ballot. McDaniel’s office certified the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment submitted by the Arkansas Initiative for Marriage Equality. McDaniel’s certification is required before the group can pursue...

Lottery ex-official gets 37-month sentenceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former Arkansas lottery security official to three years and a month in prison for stealing and cashing almost a half million dollars’ worth of scratch-off tickets. U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright also ordered former deputy security director Remmele Mazyck to pay more than $482,000 in restitution. In court in Little Rock, Mazyck apologized for his actions after his mother asked...

Man appeals ruling barring partner from homeLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A judge violated an Arkansas man’s constitutional rights by barring his gay partner from staying overnight when his son visits, imposing a blanket restriction on unmarried couples living together, attorneys told the state’s highest court Thursday. Attorneys for John Moix asked the Arkansas Supreme Court during a hearing to reverse a Pulaski County judge’s decision to impose the restriction on Moix’s visits with his 12-year-o...

Senators split on discrimination billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas’ U.S. senators split on a measure now headed to the House that outlaws workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, while Republican Sen. John Boozman opposed the measure. The proposal passed that chamber on a 64-32 vote. The bill would prohibit employers with 15 or more workers from using a person’s sexual orien...

Arvest Bank pledges $100K for marshals museum FORT SMITH (AP) — Arvest Bank has pledged a $100,000 founding donor gift to the planned U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith. The bank says the new facility will complete a “triad of great nationally recognized museums” along with the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. A cornerstone dedication is set for Saturday at the museum site along the Arkansas River. Former U.S. attorn...

Arkansas symphony collecting turkeys for charity LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is asking patrons to bring turkeys to its performances this weekend. The orchestra is holding a “Beer and Brats” street party to mark its annual “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” event prior to its Saturday and Sunday concerts. This year, the orchestra is asking concert goers to bring frozen turkeys that will be donated to the Arkansas Foodbank. People who bring turkeys or other frozen poultry will be ...

Agency proposes $2.6M in penalties against Exxon LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal agency is proposing more than $2.6 million in civil penalties against ExxonMobil after one of the company’s pipelines ruptured and spilled thousands of barrels of oil in central Arkansas, according to a document released Wednesday. The proposed civil penalties come along with what the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration says are nine probable violations of pipeline safety regulations, including a...

AG announces human trafficking task forceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Wednesday that he has established a statewide task force aimed at preventing human trafficking. McDaniel announced the creation of the task force during a news conference in Little Rock, where he stood alongside some of the state lawmakers who have sponsored legislation to help Arkansas combat human trafficking. The State Task Force for the Prevention of Human Trafficking is mad...

French consul awards Legion of Honor to vets LITTLE ROCK (AP) — France is searching the globe for soldiers who fought against the Germans in World War II to honor them for their service, and six from Arkansas were awarded the country’s highest honor Wednesday. French Consul General Surijo Seam presented four surviving soldiers with the Legion of Honor and gave the award to family members of two veterans who didn’t live to attend the ceremony. The Legion of Honor was created in 1802 by Na...